A national survey conducted by The Independent Center asked 1,141 registered voters about their familiarity with, and attitudes toward, open primary elections. Key findings include:
72.5% of respondents said they support a system where all candidates appear on one primary ballot and any registered voter can participate, regardless of party. Only 13.5% opposed the idea.
Among those who did not participate in a recent primary, 28.3% said they were registered with a different party than the primary being held, and 16% said their state's primary was closed to unaffiliated voters — meaning nearly 44% of non-participants were effectively excluded by the rules.
50.8% of respondents said open primaries would make them more likely to vote in primaries.
52.3% of respondents said they would vote for the candidate from any party who best represents their views, rather than defaulting to a candidate from their registered party.
When asked why open primary reform hasn't spread more widely, the most common answer — cited by 23.8% of respondents — was that the two major parties actively block reform to protect their power.
